Chapter 26

Hearing Pei Qingci’s words, Sheng Qingli’s heart skipped a beat.

She looked up at him in disbelief, her face clearly saying—Do you even know what you’re saying?

Pei Qingci noticed her astonishment, the corners of his lips slightly curling up. “What?”

His tone was light, his dark eyes deep and mysterious, giving off a sense of confidence. “What’s wrong with what I just said?”

“…”

To be honest, if Sheng Qingli and Pei Qingci weren’t ex-boyfriend and girlfriend, when Pei Qingci said “I was looking at you,” she would have naturally assumed he was flirting with her.

But with the context of their past relationship, Sheng Qingli wasn’t so sure.

Suddenly, she thought of what Yin Yanyan had just told her.

She calmed herself and lowered her gaze, saying, “There’s nothing wrong, it’s just—”

Pei Qingci took a step forward, his gaze fixed deeply on her. “Just what?”

His voice was low, hoarse, and sexy.

Sheng Qingli maintained a calm expression and said softly, “Your words just now could easily make someone…”

Before she could finish the sentence, a fellow cast member, Yi Yehua, walked in. Oblivious to the subtle atmosphere between the two, he looked at them and said, surprised, “Brother Pei, Sister Qingli, what a coincidence.”

Pei Qingci: “…”

Sheng Qingli: “…”

Looking at the smiling young man in front of her, who had two dimples, Sheng Qingli smiled faintly and said, “It is a bit of a coincidence.”

She threw the paper towel in her hand into the trash can. “I’ll be leaving now.”

“Eh?” Watching Sheng Qingli’s departing figure, Yi Yehua scratched his head in confusion and looked at Pei Qingci. “Brother Pei, was my timing… a bit inappropriate?”

Pei Qingci composed himself, his tone calm. “No.”

Yi Yehua: “No?”

Why did he feel like Pei Qingci’s gaze was a bit cold?

“Yeah,” Pei Qingci didn’t bother to explain further. “I’ll go first.”

Watching the two of them leave one after the other, Yi Yehua scratched his head, pondering—Really? Wasn’t it inappropriate?

“…”

—

After leaving the restroom, Sheng Qingli returned to her car to rest.

The script reading wasn’t rushed, and they had some time for a relaxed lunch break.

Having not slept well last night, Sheng Qingli originally planned to take a nap in the car during lunch.

But because of Pei Qingci’s remark, her thoughts were a mess when she got back to the car, and she couldn’t feel even a bit of drowsiness.

What did Pei Qingci mean?

He said he was looking at her.

Was it what she thought? But why?

Why suddenly say that?

Sheng Qingli couldn’t figure it out.

Moreover, didn’t he dislike her? Didn’t he not want to see her at all?!

After thinking for a long time, Sheng Qingli still couldn’t find the right answer.

She thought about asking for outside help and having Li Yuwei analyze it for her. But when she took out her phone, she hesitated.

What if Pei Qingci was just casually speaking, deliberately trying to mess with her to see her frustration and confusion? Wouldn’t she be falling into his trap?

But then again, the Pei Qingci she knew wasn’t that cruel.

For a while, Sheng Qingli was deeply troubled.

When Tong Tong got into the car, she saw Sheng Qingli looking sullen and unhappy.

She blinked softly and asked, “Sister Li, what’s wrong?”

Sheng Qingli looked up. “Nothing.”

“Really?” Tong Tong hesitated. “You don’t seem very happy.”

Sheng Qingli hummed softly, paused, and said, “I was just thinking about something.”

Tong Tong understood, “Is it the script? Are there parts you can’t figure out?”

After assisting Sheng Qingli for a few years, Tong Tong knew her well enough. She knew that when Sheng Qingli encountered logic issues with a script, she would become frustrated and depressed.

“Not today,” Sheng Qingli looked at her and paused for a moment. “Tong Tong, let me ask you something.”

Tong Tong nodded. “Go ahead.”

Sheng Qingli was silent for a few seconds, carefully choosing her words. “If someone tells you, ‘I thought you knew I was watching you,’ what does that mean?”

“Why would they be watching me?” Tong Tong was confused. “Do I have something on my face?”

Sheng Qingli: “…”

She took out a small mirror and checked. “There shouldn’t be anything.”

Tong Tong asked in confusion, “Is it a guy or a girl?”

“A guy.”

“Do you know he was watching you?” Tong Tong asked a key question.

Sheng Qingli thought back. During the script reading, she hadn’t really paid much attention to Pei Qingci, and certainly hadn’t noticed whether he was watching her.

They just occasionally had brief moments of eye contact.

But that was normal, since Sheng Qingli had also made eye contact with Xu Xingyue and the screenwriter.

“I guess I didn’t know,” Sheng Qingli answered.

Tong Tong: “…Then he must have been secretly watching you.”

Before Sheng Qingli could say anything, Tong Tong suddenly exclaimed, “Wait, was it Xu Xingyue?”

Sheng Qingli’s eyes widened. “Why would you think of Xu Xingyue?”

“Is that Yi Yehua?” Tong Tong was shocked. “How old is Yi Yehua this year? Let me check.”

Sheng Qingli couldn’t help but laugh, “Tong Tong.”

Tong Tong raised her eyes blankly, “What is it?”

“Why would you think it’s them?” Sheng Qingli asked, puzzled.

Tong Tong froze for a moment, holding her phone, and said, “Secretly watching you, it’s obviously someone who has a crush on you or admires you, like a fan. Besides the two of them, it couldn’t be anyone else, right?”

After saying that, Tong Tong thought of another person she had overlooked. “Could it be… Mr. Pei?”

But weren’t Pei Qingci and Sheng Qingli ex-boyfriend and girlfriend? He wouldn’t still be into playing the secret crush game.

Sheng Qingli asked, “A crush on me, admiring me… are there any other possibilities aside from these two?”

Because those two scenarios wouldn’t apply to Pei Qingci.

After Pei Qingci’s name was brought up, Tong Tong became a bit unsure. “If it is Mr. Pei, I wouldn’t know either.”

She rested her chin in thought. “Does he still like you?”

Sheng Qingli’s lips moved slightly, wanting to say it was unlikely.

Tong Tong continued to voice her thoughts, “But if he still liked you, why wouldn’t he just confess his feelings?”

Sheng Qingli didn’t respond.

After a long pause, she closed her eyes. “I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

She pressed her lips together and said, “I’ll take a quick nap.”

Tong Tong responded, “Go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep an eye on the time and wake you up.”

Sheng Qingli agreed.

During the script read-through in the afternoon, Sheng Qingli paid special attention to Pei Qingci. He was as calm as always, discussing the script with the screenwriter and talking about the character arcs with other actors.

He didn’t spend much time focused on her, nor was he constantly looking at her.

With her observations in mind, Sheng Qingli had reason to suspect that what he said at noon was a lie.

In the following days of script reading, Pei Qingci didn’t seek her out for any more private conversations.

Their rare interactions off set were mostly related to the award, but even those weren’t as frequent as before.

As filming neared, Sheng Qingli was under immense pressure and couldn’t spare any attention for others or any other matters. Even the award, she no longer borrowed from the person across the way as frequently. She just couldn’t take care of it.

---

On Friday, Director Zhong’s Sword And Sword officially began filming.

He didn’t like drawing too much media attention before the filming started, so the launch ceremony was kept very low-key.

After the morning ceremony, filming officially began in the afternoon.

On the first day, the crew didn’t schedule too many scenes. Sheng Qingli had three, Xu Xingyue had one, and Pei Qingci had one.

The reason for this arrangement was purely due to the entertainment industry’s superstitions, which Director Zhong also adhered to.

There’s a saying in the industry: if the first day of shooting goes smoothly, the rest of the shoot will go well. So, Director Zhong chose actors known for not needing multiple takes, as well as the two leads.

Director Zhong wasn’t worried about Sheng Qingli’s acting. His only concern was Xu Xingyue, so he asked Sheng Qingli and Xu Xingyue to rehearse together before the shoot.

After the ceremony, Sheng Qingli went to get her makeup done.

Her first scene in the afternoon involved her standing under a peach grove, reminiscing about her time in the town of Taolin. It wasn’t a particularly difficult scene, but the emotions needed to be rich and draw the audience in.

As she was getting her makeup done, Sheng Qingli was visibly nervous and anxious.

It wasn’t her first time playing the female lead, nor her first time being the first to shoot on the first day of filming. But she still couldn’t shake the pre-shoot jitters. She was afraid of making mistakes or messing up the scene.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the dressing room door.

Sheng Qingli thought it was a crew member or Tong Tong coming to fetch something, so she kept her eyes closed as the makeup artist continued applying cosmetics to her face.

It wasn’t until a cold, distant woodsy scent reached her nose that she slowly opened her eyes, looking into the mirror at the person who had unexpectedly entered her dressing room.

Their gazes met through the mirror.

After a few seconds, Sheng Qingli came back to her senses and, somewhat surprised, asked, “Mr. Pei, why are you here?”

Pei Qingci had a scene today, but it wasn’t with her.

So, he probably wasn’t here to rehearse with her.

Pei Qingci glanced at her, then at the makeup artist nearby. “Will it be done soon?”

The makeup artist was startled, glancing between the two of them. Stifling her surprise, she quickly responded, “Almost, another ten minutes or so.”

Pei Qingci nodded without saying anything further.

“…”

---

The dressing room suddenly became quiet.

Since Sheng Qingli was the only actress filming today, she was also the only one in the women’s dressing room.

Watching Pei Qingci sit down in the room, Sheng Qingli was a bit confused. “Are you… here to rehearse with me?”

Pei Qingci glanced at her again and then at the makeup artist who had perked up her ears. He responded in a low voice, “Director Zhong said if the shoot goes smoothly later, we might film one of our scenes together.”

Sheng Qingli suddenly understood. “Okay, give me a moment.”

Pei Qingci replied, “No rush.”

After listening to their conversation, the makeup artist sighed slightly in disappointment. She had thought Pei Qingci came to Sheng Qingli to say something personal.

Turns out it was just to rehearse lines.

The makeup artist quickly composed herself and focused on finishing Sheng Qingli’s makeup.

Ten minutes later, her makeup was done.

“I’ll step out for now,” the makeup artist said. “If you need me, just call.”

Since there was still some time before the official shoot, Sheng Qingli wasn’t in a rush to head to the set.

After the makeup artist left, Sheng Qingli turned her head to look at the person beside her. “Which scene is it?”

Pei Qingci: “…”

He looked down at her. Because she was learning arts in the peach grove, Sheng Qingli’s styling was quite simple—just a half ponytail tied with a green ribbon.

She looked youthful.

Noticing Pei Qingci’s silence, Sheng Qingli was puzzled. “Mr. Pei?”

Pei Qingci glanced at her, “No rush.”

“?”

Sheng Qingli was confused. No rush for what—

Seemingly aware of what she was thinking, Pei Qingci calmly asked, “Are you ready for the scene we’re about to shoot?”

Sheng Qingli was stunned for a moment and then suddenly understood why he was here.

She was dazed for a second, then lowered her eyes and softly responded, “Yes, I’m ready.”

“Do you want to rehearse it here?” Pei Qingci asked.

Sheng Qingli: “Huh?”

Pei Qingci gazed at her deeply, waiting for her response.

“You…” She suddenly came back to her senses, her long lashes trembling slightly. “You want to help me practice?”

Pei Qingci gave a soft “hmm.” “Do you want to rehearse?”

“Yes.”

Although Sheng Qingli didn’t think her acting was worse than Pei Qingci’s, sometimes an outside perspective was clearer.

There were times when she felt her performance was fine, but others might see issues. Moreover, she was well aware of how professional Pei Qingci was. Having his guidance could only be beneficial.

Sheng Qingli took a deep breath and glanced at the script. “Should I perform it just like this?”

Pei Qingci: “Up to you.”

He sat not far away, looking at her. “Do you need me to call action?”

Sheng Qingli hesitated before saying yes.

The makeup room was large enough for Sheng Qingli to act out the scene.

Besides, this scene didn’t require any complex actions like fighting or jumping. She only needed to immerse herself in the character’s emotional changes, recalling past events that triggered her emotions.

Pei Qingci sat a short distance away, watching as she stood under the chandelier, her eyes reddening and tears welling up.

In this moment, Sheng Qingli didn’t have any lines, and she didn’t need to speak. Her sadness, anger, and regret were palpable.

She was beautiful, independent, and soulful.

Pei Qingci quietly observed her.

It wasn’t until her tears fell that he snapped back to reality and said in a low voice, “Your emotions were good, but that tear…”

He thought for a few seconds and told Sheng Qingli, “It could have fallen a few seconds later.”

Sheng Qingli thought about it seriously and agreed that Pei Qingci had a point.

“Got it. I’ll be mindful of that next time.”

Pei Qingci nodded. “Relax. You don’t need to be so tense.”

“…” Sheng Qingli took a deep breath and whispered, “I don’t want to be.”

It was her body’s natural reaction.

In her heart, she knew there was no need to be nervous. It was just a scene. Even if she messed up, Director Zhong wouldn’t be disappointed in her or say anything harsh.

After all, actors messing up during filming was common.

But Sheng Qingli was the kind of actress who habitually put pressure on herself. She wanted to perform every scene as well as she could.

She always went into a scene with the mindset of not messing up.

Hearing her muttering, Pei Qingci said calmly, “You’re too tense, and that will affect your performance.”

Sheng Qingli understood. “I know.”

They chatted for a bit more, then suddenly fell into silence, unsure of what else to say.

Sheng Qingli looked at the tall, handsome man in front of her. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say thank you.

But just as the words were about to leave her mouth, Tong Tong’s voice came from outside. “Sister Lili, are you ready? Director Zhong is calling for you.”

Sheng Qingli: “I’ll be right there.”

After answering Tong Tong, Sheng Qingli raised her head. “Director Zhong is—”

Her words were cut off when Pei Qingci suddenly leaned down and, without warning, hugged her.

Sheng Qingli’s breath hitched. Before she could react, Pei Qingci released her. “Go on, believe in yourself.”